Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass - Whipped Cream & Other Delights (CD)

All Music Guide

We'll never know exactly what made this album Herb Alpert's big commercial breakthrough -- the music or the LP jacket's luscious nude model covered almost entirely with simulated whipped cream. Probably both. In any case, Alpert's most famous album is built around a coherent concept; every song has a title with food in it. Within this concept, Alpert's musical tastes are still refreshingly eclectic; he uses Brazilian rhythms on "Green Peppers" and "Bittersweet Samba," reaches back to the big-band era for the haunting "Tangerine," uses Dixieland jazz on "Butterball," and goes to New Orleans for the Allen Toussaint-penned title track (familiar to viewers of TV's The Dating Game). He also has developed a unique sense of timing as a producer, using pauses for humorous effect, managing to score his second Top Ten hit with a complex, tempo shifting version of "A Taste of Honey." No wonder Alpert drew such a large, diverse audience at his peak; his choices of tunes spanned eras and generation...s, his arrangements were energetic enough for the young and melodic enough for older listeners. This album, number one in the nation for eight weeks, is available on CD, though the cover obviously doesn't make as alluring an impression as it did on LP. - Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide Read more Less